IPVanish Review

Highlights

Server Size
1,400+, 40,000+ IPs

Server Locations
50 Countries, 75 locations

VPN protocol and Encryption
OpenVPN, IKEv2/IPSec, L2TP/IPSec, PPTP; AES-256 bit Encryption

App Compatibility
Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, Linux, Fire TV

Router Compatibility
Yes, installing the VPN on a compatible router is recommended to secure all devices without the need for downloading an app on each device or worrying about simultaneous device limitations. This is great for gaming consoles, smart TVs, and streaming devices.

Streaming
Unblocks popular streaming platforms including Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO, and more

Logging Policy
Strict Zero Logging Policy

Support
24/7 Live Support

Pros

• Strong miltary grade encryption (256-bit AES)
• Zero log policy
• Huge server network and individula IPs
• Torrenting P2P availabiliity on servers
• VPN apps of range of platforms
• Strong 24/7 customer support
• Try it free for 30 days

Cons

• Inconsistent access to streaming services
• Does not bypass censored countries
• No kill switch for iOS app
• Split tunnel only for Android and Fire TV apps
• Lacking double encryption and port forwarding
• Based in the US part of the 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, or 14 Eyes surveillance alliances.

Privacy

IPVanish is headquartered in the US meaming they are subject to the 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, or 14 Eyes surveillance alliances.. They can be summoned to share any information or report any storange of data. This is less than ideal for a VPN service, however lets take a look at their privacy policy to see if they collect any personal information.

Zero logging policy

IPVanish does not track any personally identifiable activity logs. This means all your data, browsing, and web traffic remains hidden and are not stored or logged anywhere.

Here is what IPVanish collects:

• Email address for your account
• Payment method

Here is what IPVanish does not collect:

• IP addresses (source or VPN)
• Browsing history
• Traffic destination or metadata
• DNS queries

Your privacy is our priority, but your trust in us is equally important. That's why we want to be as transparent as possible in our policies. IPVanish is a zero-logs VPN service provider, which means that we do not keep a record of any connection, traffic, or activity data in regards to our Services. In general, however, we monitor our Site activity to measure its performance and improve functionality.

IPVanish does not collect any personal data so even if they are summoned to provide information by the US government they would not have any personal identifying activity to provide. However, IPVanish has not conducted an audit on their logging policy or applications.

Security and Encryption

How secure is IPVanish?

IPVanish uses AES 256-bitencryption algorithm to hide your data. It’s the same encryption standard adopted by the U.S. government and used by security experts worldwide to protect classified information.

AES-256, which has a key length of 256 bits, supports the largest bit size and is practically unbreakable by brute force based on current computing power, making it the strongest encryption standard. 256-bit keys means 2^256 or 1.1 x 10^77 possible combinations. That’s 115,​792,​089,​237,​316,​195,​423,​570,​985,​008,​687,​907,​853,​269,​984,​665,​640,​560,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000 combinations! A brute-force attack on a 256-bit keyspace is simply infeasible, even if all the world’s most powerful supercomputers ran for as long as the universe has existed so far, billions and billions of times over.

Protocols

IPVanish offers a variety of prtocols OpenVPN(TCP/UDP), IKEv2/IPSec, L2TP/IPSec, PPTP. OpenVPN is not available for iOS which is a bummer. While some VPNs have started to integrate and beta test WireGuard protocol, IPVanish has yet to do this. WireGuard is a newer protocol that shows promise with better speeds however it is still under development and has not yet established its viability. We would like to see IPVanish start to beta test this protocol like other top VPNs.

Kill Switch

One of the security features IPVanish offers is a kill switch. The kill switch is an advanced security measure, which prevents your data from leaking to the web. If your VPN connection is ever interrupted, the kill switch will immediately stop traffic from entering or leaving your device. By halting all online activity, the kill switch keeps your personal information from being exposed to your internet service provider (ISP) or other prying eyes.

The kill switch is available for Android, Windows, and MacOS but not available for iOS.

Server Locations

IPVanish has an abundance of servers worldwide. They offer 1,400+ servers, 40,000+ IPs, 75 locations in 50 countries one of the most out of any VPN we reviewed. The high number of individual IPs helps to prevent server congestion and performance while connected to popular locations. Here is the breakdown for server locations

• 779 in North America
• 38 in South America
• 458 in Europe
• 57 in Asia
• 83 in Australia
• 10 in Africa

See the full server list

IPVanish makes it easy to select from a country list of servers:

Streaming

IPVanish does have some streaming limitations. Their VPN unlocks the US and Japanese Netflix libraries but fails to unblock others. If you are looking for a VPN that reliably unblocks Netflix check out our top VPNs for Netflix. IPVanish also falls short for BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Disney +.

Torrenting

IPVanish is great for torrenting, it allows P2P traffic across all of its servers that also operates over individual IP addresses resulting in less server congestion and ultimately faster download and upload speeds. For torrenting the kill switch feature is nice to have the extra security. Make sure the kill switch is enabled in the VPN app. We also found IPVanish works great with Kodi. We tested this and found no issues. IPVanish is a great choice if your looking for torrenting.

Speed test results

IPVanish has really fast local speeds compared to the others we tested and great for 4K streaming. We conducted a speed test, first by testing local speeds from New York and secondly international speeds. We tested 4 international server locations which are UK, Australia, Japan, and Canada.

We capped our speeds at 100 Mbps to compare VPN results and then by calculating a % loss between our baseline and resulting speeds to understand how much the VPN affected our speeds. The starting baseline speed with no VPN for upload is 94.38 Mbps and download is 85.74 Mbps.

One thing to note when I selected a server furthest away from my location the speed slightly decreases. The longer your traffic travels the slower your speeds will be, however, the best VPNs will mitigate the effects and ideally, you won't even notice the difference at all.

Geoblocking, How well does it fare in China?

Finding a VPN in China is difficult, China has tough restrictions and government surveillance. Some VPN's are not powerful enough to bypass these restrictions and are blocked from accessing VPN sites and apps. We do not recommend IPVanish for bypassing censorship. They struggle to provide a VPN that can bypass censored countries. Since they are a U.S based company they list in their documentation they cannot do business with Burma, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria while also struggling to bypass restrictions in countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, China, and Kazakhstan.

Ease of Use and Support

IPVanish makes it very simple and easy to use for all platforms including device specific aps. It is very easy to use and change server locations. Their advanced privacy settings are easy to navigate and can be used for both begginers and advanced users.

The split tunneling feature is available for Android and FireTV but not for Windows, Linux, or iOS

For instructions on installing the IPVanish for each platform, see the dedicated guides section

Browser extensions

They do not offer browser extensions, however we recommended using a full VPN rather than a browser extension in most cases.

They provide FAQs, getting started guides, troubleshooting, anouncements, and billing questions in their support section.

Customer Support

IPVanish has 24/7 live chat and email support that is very responsive. If you ever had any problems rest assured they will be helpful as they are customer focused.

Pricing

IPVanish pricing is straight forward, they offer three different plans. Each plan includes all of the features and functionality they offer so there is no upselling. They are fair priced compared to other VPN services but you can take advantage of a longer subscription for a lower monthly fee. Also, they are dedicated to providing a superior VPN experience to its customers making it valuable. You also get 250GB of storage with their SugarSync Cloud Storage thrown in with every package.

Payment types

They do not offer Bitcoin for total anonymity like other VPNs. Here's the payment options:

• credit/debit card
• Paypal

Verdict

IPVanish excels with some features including security, network servers, and same country speeds but fall short in unblocking popular streaming services like Netflix, so it all depends on your needs. Some of its advanced features like split tunneling and kill switch are not available with all platforms.

Bottom Line

If you are looking for a VPN that has excellent security, speed, and good with torrenting this VPN is for you. Otherwise look at our top VPN Reviews.